


Tutoring for Dummies

by thetomkatwholived



Series: Get Back to Hogwarts [3]
Category: Grey's Anatomy, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Enemies to Lovers, Gryffindor Nico Kim, Hufflepuff Levi Schmitt, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 16:05:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17563658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetomkatwholived/pseuds/thetomkatwholived
Summary: Levi is forced to tutor Nico, a new transfer student, and they immediately do not get along.





	Tutoring for Dummies

**Author's Note:**

> I got a prompt from anonymous on Tumblr stating: enemies to lovers! Hogwarts AU where Nico is a cocky bastard transfer in from the American wizarding school and is forced to take lessons with Levi to catch up and they hate each other at first (Levi hates how cocky Nico is especially) but thennnn they fall for each other!!! Love ur writing btw 💚💛💙♥️
> 
> Normally, I'd post a short ficlet in response, but as I started writing, I realized this was going to turn into something much longer. This story had a bit of a mind of its own. It's basically an AU to my already established Hogwarts AU, so you don't have to read the two stories that already exist in this series to understand this one.

Transfers were rare at Hogwarts. While there were wizarding schools scattered throughout the world, none of the curriculums were exactly the same, making it difficult to jump into a new school mid-education. That explained the hype surrounding Nico Kim’s arrival at the beginning of his sixth year. When a tall, muscled teenager was mixed in with the trembling group of first years, people took notice. For Levi Schmitt and his friends, this was the first transfer they had seen in their time at Hogwarts. Someone had transferred in from Beauxbatons the year before they had started, but no one during their tenure.

Nico Kim had transferred from Ilvermorny at the beginning of this year, but no one seemed to know the exact reason why. He, as he boasted to anyone who would listen (and looking the way he did, a lot of people wanted to listen), had taken his Fifth Year Regular Exams, or FYREs, and had decided, upon receiving near perfect scores on all of his core courses, to put in for a transfer to Hogwarts. Apparently, Ilvermorny was not able to teach him what he needed to know for… whatever he wanted to do.

He had quickly been sorted into Gryffindor and had made a name for himself as a skilled Quidditch player and all-around hot guy. Levi, however, was not a fan. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors had a few classes together, and he sometimes ate his meals at the Gryffindor table, so he had the opportunity observe Nico. While the new student was smart and athletic, he was also incredibly arrogant. He loved the attention he garnered and made no effort to hide how superior he felt. Hence, Levi not being a fan.

“I don’t like Nico Kim.” Levi plopped down at the Ravenclaw table next to Dahlia Qadri, a Ravenclaw. Taryn Helm, a Slytherin, and Casey Parker, a Gryffindor, sat across from them. The four were all in different houses but maintained a close friendship, nonetheless. “He’s so cocky!”

“But hot. Really, really hot.” Dahlia mused, while Taryn and Casey nodded.

“Sure, whatever. But he acts like he’s the greatest thing to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts.”

“You know, he’s really not so bad. You forget that I share a dorm with him.” Casey piped up.

“Ugh, that must be a pill.”

Casey shrugged. “I’m serious, he’s not too bad.”

Levi scoffed. Before he could give any sort of retort, a throat cleared behind him. He turned to find Professor McGonagall, the headmistress, looking at him expectantly. “Hello, Professor!”

“Mister Schmitt, may I have a word?”

“Of course, ma’am!”

Professor McGonagall led Levi to a corner of the Great Hall, in which someone was already standing, seemingly waiting for them. Once they were close enough, Levi recognized the other person as Nico Kim. He gave a small sigh, unheard by the Headmistress next to him.

“Mister Schmitt, I trust you and Mister Kim know each other, as you share a few classes with him.” They both nodded. “Excellent. Mister Kim has transferred here to study to be a Healer, which you, Mister Schmitt, have also indicated to be your goal. Since Mister Kim has come from Ilvermorny, some of his curriculum has been different. As such, I would like you two to work together to get Mister Kim up to date on the Hogwarts coursework.”

Levi gaped, not believing what he was hearing. He had just been expressing his dislike for Nico, and now he’s being asked to spend copious amounts of time with him? He turned to the other boy and was met with a smug smirk, which did not at all surprise him.

“Fine by me, Professor. I think I’m doing all right, but anything to better my chances at becoming a Healer.” Nico then winked -  _ winked _ \- at Levi.

“I… yeah, sure. Whatever you need, Professor.” Levi knew there was no point in trying to protest; Professor McGonagall was not one to compromise.

“Very good. Please coordinate a time to meet and begin your studies. I’m trusting you two will be able to work well together. You are two of our brightest students. It’s a wonder neither of you were Sorted into Ravenclaw… No matter!” Professor McGonagall swept away, leaving the two students alone in the corner of the Great Hall.

“Listen, Short Stack, I’m not sure I need these study sessions. I’m easily pulling Es and Os in my classes right now, so we should be good. We can spend a few hours in the library, appease Ol’ Minerva, and then move on, kay?”

“Short Stack?” Levi knew there were plenty more things to comment on from Nico’s speech, but he was hung up on the odd nickname.

“Like pancakes? A short stack of pancakes?” Levi shook his head. “Whatever. You’re short.”

“Oi, well spotted!” Levi tried to glare but he worried it came off as more constipated than intimidating. Nico’s laugh seemed to confirm this suspicion. “Anyway, we need to actually do this. You haven’t been here long enough to realize that McGonagall means business. You may be doing well, but there’s a whole curriculum you’ve missed and you’ll need to know it for your NEWTs. I know I’m not your first choice of study buddy, but you’re stuck with me.”

“Who says you’re not my first choice?” And then, Nico winked  _ again _ .

Levi scoffed, not willing to give into the cocky flirting of the other boy. “When are you free?”

“For you? Whenever.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m serious. I know you have Quidditch practice some nights, so we’ll have to work around that. I tutor some third years in Potions every Sunday afternoon, so that won’t work either.”

“I have Quidditch practice Tuesday and Thursday nights.” Nico seemed to get the message that Levi wasn’t playing around and his charms were just going to fall flat.

“Great. We’ll meet in the library on Wednesday night at 7. We’ll start with Herbology. You’ll need to know that for Healing plants and to know what to use in potions.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Nico threw off a mock salute.

“Look, I don’t need you making fun of me constantly. That’ll only make this worse.”

“I wasn’t… Fine. I’m sorry.”

Levi gave a short nod. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

“I’ll see you in Charms in an hour.”

“Right. Then too.” Levi turned away from Nico, who was now giving him a cocky smirk, and made his way back towards his friends.

When he sat down, Dahlia grabbed his arm excitedly. “What was that about?!”

“McGonagall wants me to help him catch up on the curriculum. But he’s apparently doing fine on his own. Or so he mentioned multiple times.” Levi responded in an exasperated tone, as if being asked to work with Nico was the greatest burden imaginable.

“Why did she choose you?” Dahlia, as the Ravenclaw, seemed to be somewhat offended at not being asked. Levi suspected she just wanted to spend some time with the attractive new student. 

“We both want to be Healers, I guess. So she wanted someone who knew what was needed of a Healer to help him. Or so I gathered.”

“You solved the mystery! Everyone in Slytherin is so curious as to why he transferred here. Liz Gallows was convinced he was recruited by the Gryffindor team to play for them. I reminded her that there’s no way he could have known which house he would be in. She didn’t care and just launched into a monologue about how great his hair looks when he plays Quidditch and it gets all windswept.” Taryn added.

“What mystery? I knew he wanted to be a Healer. He’s always reading these large books on Healing and lamenting about how ugly lime green is as a wardrobe color.” Casey piped up.

“You never mentioned that.” Levi pointed an accusatory finger in Casey’s direction. 

Casey shrugged and sipped his pumpkin juice. “You never asked.”

“Well, I don’t care. I just have to get through a few study sessions with him and that’s all. Nico Kim will not become a big part of my life.”

 

As it turned out, Nico Kim did become a big part of Levi’s life. They had study sessions three times a week because there were five years of curriculum Levi had to review with Nico. Levi tried to be studious and informative, knowing that Professor McGonagall expected as much from him. Nico, for his part, was as arrogant as ever, always showing up late, uniform rumpled as though he had just woken up, and acting as though he were too good for these meetings.

“Listen, charms are charms. So what if some of the pronunciations are different? They do the same thing.” Nico tended to fight with Levi on any topic he brought up, but he seemed especially passionate about spell pronunciations.

“But they can do different things if the pronunciation is off. I know this is boring and you’re smarter than this, but if the Bandaging Charm is a bit off, it can turn a bone into a fennel plant.” Nico gave Levi a blank look. “Which is bad.”

“Yeah, I know that’s bad! But  _ ferula _ doesn’t sound that different in a British accent.” Nico gave Levi a calculating stare, as if challenging him to dispute this claim.

“Well, no…” Levi relented. “But that’s not always the case! Nico, stop fighting me on this. You need to learn these things if you want to do well on your NEWTs.” 

“Oh, on my Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests? Yeah, nastily exhausting is right!” Nico was clearly fed up with feeling like he knew nothing, despite being one of the best in their year.

“Hey, I didn’t ask for this! I don’t want to be here as much as you don’t! We’re not exactly best friends! Or friends at all.” Levi wasn’t going to let Nico play the victim when he was also forced into a less than satisfactory situation. “Believe me, spending time with you is no picnic.”

Nico looked affronted, as though he couldn’t imagine he was the problem. “Well, then why did you agree to this?”

“You don’t say no to McGonagall. But why did you, Mr. I’m So Smart?” Levi was barely containing his rage at this point and knew his face must be beet red.

Oddly, Nico blushed at the question. “I… You know what? You’re right, we aren’t friends. So I feel no need to actually tell you my reasoning.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” 

“Boys! Volume!” Madam Pince appeared next to their table at their raised voices.

“Sorry, ma’am. I was just leaving anyway.” Levi slammed his book shut, stuffed it into his bag, and scurried away, robes billowing out behind him. He thought he heard someone call out to him, but he made no effort to turn around. 

 

It was 7 pm on a Monday night and Levi should have been in the library, waiting for Nico to show up his customary 15 minutes late for their study session. Instead, he was in an armchair in the Hufflepuff common room, working on a Transfiguration essay with Dahlia and stress-eating Exploding Bonbons. This essay was not due until the end of the week, but he needed a distraction from his worry over defying Professor McGonagall.

“You could just go to the library. Then, when he tries to fight you on the lesson, you can just leave. You’re not really skipping that way.” Dahlia suggested, sick of the small explosions coming from Levi’s direction everytime he popped a sweet.

“No, that would give him the satisfaction of getting to argue with me. And he’ll probably see me leaving as giving up and he’ll think he won. No, I will make him sit there, alone, wondering where I could be. That’s a far better course of action.” Levi was obstinate and Dahlia could quickly tell there was no use pushing the matter further.

She sighed, “Fine. But stop with the bonbons! They’re loud and they’re only going to make you sick.”

“Ugh, fine.” Levi relented and handed over his bag of sweets to Dahlia, who hid them in her bag. 

“What if he tells McGonagall you didn’t show up?”

Levi groaned. “I don’t know! Why do you think I was stress-eating the sweets! I can’t make up some excuse about being busy for every day we’re supposed to meet. Everyone knows my social life is not that exciting!”

“Maybe he won’t tell?” Dahlia questioned hopefully.

Scoffing, Levi turned back to his essay. “Oh, he’ll tell. Anything to make me look bad and him look great.”

Dahlia shrugged. “He may surprise you. Casey really seems to think he’s a good guy.”

“Casey could see the good in a Dementor.” They shared a laugh and the weird tension that had started to settle between the two dissipated. 

“Okay, so back to this essay. Human transfiguration is much more difficult than I was anticipating.” 

The two settled into a rhythm and Levi soon forgot about his guilt over skipping out on the study session and his worry about the wrath of Professor McGonagall.

 

Levi had just taken a sip of pumpkin juice when he heard a throat clear behind him. He was at the Slytherin table this morning and all of his friends were already seated so he wasn’t sure who could be trying to get his attention. For one horrifying moment, he thought it may be Professor McGonagall, but her throat clear was a bit more commanding. He swallowed his juice and slowly turned around to be met with the stupidly symmetrical face of Nico, gazing at him with raised eyebrows and an unreadable expression.

“I sat in the library for half and a hour last night. And you never showed.”

“Oops.” Levi turned back to his breakfast, ignoring the gawks from his friends.

Nico lightly gripped Levi’s arm to turn him around, which Levi did, reluctantly. “Look, I know we sort of got into it the other day, but you said you’d do this.”

Levi scoffed, “You didn’t seem so keen about these lessons whenever we actually met up.”

Nico sighed and pursed his lips before giving Levi a calculating look. “Look, dude, we’re supposed to be meeting up to study. At least let me know if you can’t make it.”

“First of all, I’m not your ‘dude.’ Second, I could make it. I just didn’t go. Oops.” Levi turned back to his food, but not before catching Nico gaping at him.

“I’ll be in the library tomorrow night at 7. You better show up.” Nico sounded serious, but Levi wasn’t about to back down so easily.

He whipped around and glared at the Gryffindor. “Yeah? Or what? You’ll tell on me? I’m sure McGonagall would love to hear why I skipped out on our study session. You have no power over me. Everyone else may fall at your feet because you’re new and different and stupidly attractive, but I’m not them!” Levi huffed.

To his horror, Nico just smirked. “‘Stupidly attractive, huh?”

Levi glared even fiercer. “Is that all you got from that? Yeah, you’re fit, so what? We’re not friends and I’m not your tutor anymore. So bye.”

The finality in Levi’s tone must have hit Nico because he straightened up and set his face into a neutral expression. “I’ll still be in the library. You can show up. I’ll be there. See you around, Levi.”

Levi watched Nico retreat, before turning back to his friends. Taryn let out a low whistle. “You sure told him.”

“He’s a jerk and I’m fed up with it!” Levi aggressively refilled his cup of pumpkin juice.

“You’re so dumb.” Casey sighed out.

Levi, horribly affronted, let out a gasp. “What?!”

“He’s only that way around you. He wants you to think he’s some super smart guy who’s too cool for his own good. He’s struggling. I’ve seen him spend hours trying to catch up on work. You were really helping him.”

“He never acted like it. And why would he want me to think that?” Levi scoffed.

Dahlia, seemingly catching on to what Casey was implying, chimed in, “Oh, it’s so obvious! I can’t believe I didn’t notice before! You have to go to the study session on Wednesday!”

“No, I do not. And will you tell me what is going on?!”

“Nope! Not my secret to tell.” Casey mimed zipping his lips.

“Will you tell me?” Taryn asked.

“Oh, yeah. Later though. And you can’t tell this one.” Casey pointed at Levi.

Taryn gave a triumphant “yes!” at the same time as Levi let out an indignant “what?!”

 

All day Tuesday and Wednesday, Nico tried to get Levi’s attention in class, the halls, and meals. Levi did all he could to avoid him. His luck finally ran out by Wednesday dinner when he entered the Great Hall to find his friends all clustered together at the Gryffindor table. Levi sighed and contemplated his options: he had some casual friends in Hufflepuff with whom he could eat or he could just skip dinner and head to the kitchens later. As he settled on that second plan, Dahlia looked up, noticed him, and beckoned him over. He knew he had no other options at this point.

While he made his way to the Gryffindor table, he scanned the table to find Nico, noticing him a few seats down from his friends. Perfect. Just what he needed. As he passed him, Nico reached out a hand to grab Levi’s arm and stop him. Levi tried to pull his arm free, but it proved to be in vain.

“I’ll be in the library tonight. I’ll be there on time. I will gladly study whatever you want us to study and I will not fight you on it or complain.” Nico sounded almost desperate. “Please show up.”

Levi refused to meet his eyes as he responded, “Maybe. I might be busy.”

“Levi, please. I promise.” Nico was practically begging.

“Be in the library. If I am going to show up, I’ll be there at 7. So you can leave at 7:01 if I’m not there.” Levi felt this was a fair enough compromise.

“I… please.”

“Just. Be there.” Levi pulled his arm free and made his way to his friends.

“What was that about?” Casey asked, wide-eyed.

“He basically begged me to show up to the study session tonight.”

“Are you going to go?” Dahlia questioned, as wide-eyed as Casey.

Levi sighed. “I honestly don’t know. He seems sincere, but I can’t continue doing the sessions the way they’ve been.”

“So maybe go and see if it’s different. If it’s not, you can officially end them.” Taryn suggested.

“That’s… not a bad idea.” Levi acquiesced.

 

Levi took a deep breath and walked through the doors to the library. He looked around and spotted Nico in their usual spot, books strown about the table and robe hanging off the back of his chair. His face was downcast and he was twiddling his fingers, looking nervous and so different from the usual cocky Nico Kim. Levi almost found it endearing.

He walked to the table and stopped in front of the chair across from Nico. “Okay, here’s how this is going to go.” At Levi’s voice Nico looked up, a charmingly hopeful expression on his perfect face. “We will do what I lay out for us tonight. You will not fight me on anything. If it works out well, we can continue. But if you act at all how you have in the past, this is officially over.”

“Yes, sure. Whatever you say.” Nico raised his hand, as though about to give off a mock salute, before thinking better of it.

Levi sat down and pulled out his Transfiguration book. “We’ll be looking at Animagi today and the way they are tracked in Britain. It’s different than in the US. I checked. We’ll then look at the difference between Animagi and human transfiguration.” Levi raised an eyebrow, as if challenging Nico to challenge him.

Nico grabbed his Transfiguration book and gave a wide smile. “Yes, perfect, wonderful. That’s great! Let’s do it!”

 

Two hours later, the two boys had made it through all that Levi had planned for them to cover that night. Nico had been attentive and eager, asking questions and answering Levi’s. Clearly, he was taking this seriously and seemed to understand that Levi meant business.

“Okay, that’s all I wanted us to get through tonight. You’re free to go.” Levi began to pack up his materials.

“How was it?” Nico looked like a puppy waiting for validation from his owner.

“Yeah, it was fine. You were much better tonight.” Levi decided to make Nico sweat a bit.

“So, it’ll happen again? On Saturday afternoon, like normal?”

Levi shrugged, giving off a nonchalant vibe. “I guess so.”

Nico gave a bright smile, causing Levi to almost drop his persona in wonder. How does a person look like that? “Awesome. Great. I’ll see you then. I mean, before then. But also then. Okay. Bye.” Nico hopped up and fumbled his way out of the library.

Levi watched him leave, confused. “Weird.” He said to himself.

 

They continued to meet for the next few weeks, with Nico being studious and responsive. He had done a complete 180, even arriving before Levi most nights. Despite this change, he still gave off a cocky vibe at times, which Levi still hated. They could go days without Nico acting arrogant, only for him to revert back to that smug asshole about whom Levi had almost forgotten. One day, after they had finished studying and Nico had begun to brag about his excellent performance in the last Quidditch game, Levi could stand it no longer.

“Why do you do that?” He exclaimed.  

Nico looked taken aback. “What? Do what?”

“Act like such a cocky bastard. I get it. You’re smart and athletic and hot. You don’t have to talk about it so much. You know, sometimes I think you’re not so bad and then you do this.”

Nico looked surprised. He seemed to be debating his answer, before adopting a smug smirk. “You think I’m hot?”

“See, that’s what I mean! What are you trying to accomplish? You really think that’s impressive? That I’m impressed?”

Nico blinked rapidly. “You’re… you’re not?” He almost sounded hurt.

“No! I’m so unimpressed! All you do is brag about yourself. It’s so annoying!” Levi knew he was being harsh, but he couldn’t take it anymore.

Nico looked so lost and downtrodden. “You don’t care about me?”

Levi was thoroughly confused. “What?”

“I… you don’t like hearing about this stuff?”

“No. I don’t get it; Casey says you’re not like this with the Gryffindors. Why are you like this with me?”

Nico now just looked utterly helpless. “Because. I… it’s because… I… I want to impress you.”

“Yeah, you want to impress everyone, whatever.”

Nico ran a hand across his face. “No. Not everyone. Just you. I just want to impress you.”

Levi gave him a scrutinizing look. “Me? Just me? But why?”

Nico took a deep breath. “Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I first saw you at the Welcome Feast.”

Levi gaped at him. “You… what?”

Nico looked close to tears. He shut his eyes tight. “I’m just going to go. I need to go. I’ll see you around.” Nico stood up, gathered his belongings into his arms, and rushed out of the library.

Levi wanted to do something; yell out to him or chase after him, but he was frozen, still trying to process what had just happened.

 

Levi collapsed into an armchair in the Ravenclaw common room, knowing his friends were congregating there tonight. He had answered the riddle to the eagle’s liking, meaning he didn’t have to wait to be let in, like he does when they spend time in the Gryffindor or Slytherin common rooms.

“Uh, you okay, buddy?” Taryn questioned, evidently alarmed by his stature.

“He’s apparently not a cocky bastard all the time?” Levi felt no need to clarify who he meant.

“I told you that! He’s actually a pretty down to earth guy.” Casey felt somewhat vindicated.

“He… he said he only did that to… I mean… to impress me? He wants to impress me. I think… maybe… but… I think Nico Kim  _ likes _ me.” Levi stuttered out.

There was a moment of silence before all of his friends collectively exclaimed: “Finally!”

He sat bolt upright. “You knew?! You all knew?!”

“He told me. He kept asking about you and I got suspicious. I told him not to mess with you and he told me that he just wanted to know you better.” Casey admitted. “Then Dahlia figured it out and we told Taryn, but she suspected already.”

“He actually likes me?” Levi felt… overwhelmed.

“He’s confused by you. Normally, people just like him immediately. He’s a bit magnetic. But you didn’t seem to care. I told him you don’t like people like that, but he seemed convinced it would work.” 

Levi sprang out of his chair. “I need to find him. I need to… I need to talk to him."

“I thought you didn’t like him?” Dahlia questioned.

“I don’t like who he pretended to be. But glimpses I saw of the real him? I… I liked those.”

“And he’s really hot.”

Levi blushed. “Yeah, that too.”

 

Casey brought Levi into the Gryffindor Tower, leading him up to the sixth year dorm. They stopped outside the door. “I saw the other guys in our year down in the common room, so it should just be him in there.”

Levi took a deep breath before nodding at Casey and opening the door. Nico was curled up on a bed on the other end of the room. He didn’t look up when the door opened, just seemed to burrow deeper in the bed. It was a striking contrast to the cocky boy Levi had seen so often; this Nico was vulnerable and unguarded.

“Do you actually like me?” Levi practically shouted, overcome with a mess of emotions at seeing Nico in this state.

Nico sprang up and Levi could see that his eyes were wet, as though he wasn’t crying but was maybe on the verge. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

Levi walked briskly over to Nico until he was standing right in front of the other boy. He realized this was probably a bad idea because Nico was unfairly gorgeous when he was this close. “Casey let me in. But do you actually like me? Truly? Not just some pity thing?”

Nico looked utterly confused. “Pity thing? What do you mean by that? Why would I pity you?”

“A guy like you doesn’t like a guy like me. I’m short and awkward and nerdy.” Levi admitted, maintaining eye contact with Nico.

Nico’s eyebrows practically touched his hairline. “You’re handsome and adorable and smart and amazing and perfect. A guy like me has no shot with a guy like you. But to answer your question, yeah I actually like you.”

Levi furrowed his brow at this admission. “I… I don’t know you. I’ve only seen snippets of who you really are. I do like those snippets, but I don’t know enough about you.”

Nico’s smile faded and he hung his head. “You came here to just let me down, huh?”

“No!” Levi exclaimed, causing Nico to raise his head with a hopeful smile. “I’m saying I want to get to know the real you.”

“Yeah! Get to know me! Let’s do that!” Nico was almost jumping out of his skin with excitement.

“There’s a Hogsmeade trip this Saturday. Let’s go together.” 

“Like a date? Are you asking me on a date?” Nico’s smile was so huge, Levi was surprised it didn’t take over his whole face.

“No.” Nico’s smile fell. “Just a hangout. Just to get to know each other. We won’t hold hands or kiss afterwards.”

Nico’s smile returned, albeit much smaller. “Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.”

Levi matched Nico’s smile. “Perfect. Meet me at 10 in the entranceway.”

“Yes! Of course! See you then! And in class tomorrow and Friday!” Nico’s excitement had returned.

Levi nodded. “Yeah. Um, bye.”

“Bye, Levi.” Nico’s voice was so incredibly soft that Levi’s knees almost gave out. Instead, he turned and left the room.

 

For the rest of the week, Nico would shoot Levi soft smiles at every opportunity, not even expecting anything in return. Levi would sometimes roll his eyes good-naturedly or give a small grin back. At breakfast on Saturday, Nico’s smile was not soft, but bright and overpowering, almost knocking out Levi’s breath at the sincerity of that look.

“Wow, he’s so gone over you.” Taryn said, drawing Levi’s eyes away from Nico and back towards his friends.

Levi rolled his eyes. “He just likes me. It’s a dumb crush. We’ll hang out today and he’ll be cocky and I’ll be nerdy and he’ll get over it.”

“Hm, I wouldn’t be so sure. He’s so excited for this day. It’s all he’s been talking about since Wednesday.” Casey chimed in.

“Well, he’s gotta prove to me that he’s different. We’re not dating.”

“Not yet.” Dahlia said in a sing-song voice.

“Shut up!” But Levi couldn’t help a small smile from gracing his face at the thought of them actually being together.

 

At 10, Levi made his way to the entranceway, expecting to have to wait a bit for Nico to arrive. So imagine his surprise when he saw Nico already waiting, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. He spotted him and his face lit up as he rushed over. 

“Hi! So I have a tentative plan for today, but if you want to do something else, that’s fine. But I talked to Casey and he said you love to spend a bunch of time in Honeydukes and Zonko’s, but you rarely buy anything. And then I figured we could check out the Healing books at Tomes and Scrolls. And since we both love Butterbeer, I thought we’d definitely make our way to The Three Broomsticks at some point.” Nico listed off his ideas for the day as they walked out the door towards the magical town.

“But. What about you? What do you want to do?” Levi asked.

“Spend time with you.” Nico shrugged.

Levi blushed. “Well, we can also go to Spintwitches Sporting Needs, if you want. Or The Shrieking Shack can be cool. Well, not so much now that we’ve learned its true nature in History of Magic. But still.”

Nico simply grinned down at Levi. “Whatever you want.”

They made their way into the town, discussing their latest Potions assignment and comparing notes on the best way to preserve Felix Felicis. As they wandered towards Honeydukes, Nico began to discuss his time in America, something not many people knew about.

“My family lives in Southern California, which tends to be warm and sunny most of the time. So going to school on top of a mountain in Massachusetts was definitely a big change. It’s  _ cold _ there. And rainy and foggy and snowy. But I loved it. The view from Mount Greylock is incredible and there’s nothing better than autumn in Berkshire County. And our version of Hogsmeade was a Muggle town with a Wizard side street. We always tried to make friends with the Muggle kids, but they just thought we were weird.” Nico was practically gushing, and Levi could tell how much he loved his time in America.

“Why did you leave? I mean, I know you came here to study Healing. But why here? Why now?” Levi couldn’t contain his curiosity as the two entered Honeydukes.

Nico inspected some Cockroach Clusters and shrugged. “St. Mungo’s is the best Wizarding hospital in the world. I knew that’s where I needed to be and I knew my chances would be better over here. But I also didn’t want to leave America for so long. It’s hard to get home because International Portkeys are so hard to arrange. But after my FYREs, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer so I put in for the transfer.”

“Do you still talk to your friends?” Levi asked as he grabbed a few Sugar Quills.

“Yeah, we Floo sometimes and my owl has gotten used to the flight over the ocean. But not a lot. It’s difficult. Sometimes I’m jealous of Muggles for having those cell phone things.” Nico seemed to be debating between a Cauldron Cake or Pumpkin Pasty before deciding to get both.

“I’m sorry. That must be hard for you.” Levi led them over to the Chocolate Frogs.

Nico shrugged. “It’s not so bad. People here have been really nice and I’ve made some new friends pretty quickly.”

“Casey called you magnetic.”

Nico gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m not sure that’s true. But people seemed to be intrigued by me enough to want to get to know me.”

They made their way to the register and Nico grabbed Levi’s sweets and paid before Levi could protest.

“This isn’t a date! You don’t have to pay for me.” Levi huffed.

“You can get the Butterbeers.” Nico grinned. They made their way out of Honeydukes and into Zonko’s. “So what about your friends? How’d you get to be such a close group if you’re all in different houses?”

“Well, we met on the train…” Levi launched into the story of his friendship with Taryn, Casey, and Dahlia as the two browsed through the colorful displays of Zonko’s. Nico listened intently, touched by the strong friendship shared amongst the four classmates. 

“Wow, that’s awesome. You guys are such a great example of inter-house friendship.” Nico said, awed, as they left the shop and made their way towards the bookstore.

Levi shrugged and blushed lightly. “We didn’t set out to be an example. We just liked each other.”

“You’re all incredibly likable people.” Levi turned to Nico and they shared a small smile.

When they entered Tomes and Scrolls, Levi led them towards the Healing books and they both silently browsed the selection, too engrossed in the subject material to carry on a conversation. Occasionally, one would point out something interesting to the other, sparking a short discussion on the topic.

“Boys, you’ve been looking through those books for an hour now. Are you going to buy anything or just keep taking up space in my shop?” Dorcus Diggenhoff often came off as rude, but Levi knew she secretly had a heart of gold and loved when anyone came to her shop, even if they didn’t buy anything.

“Sorry, ma’am. We were so captivated that we must have lost track of time. We’ll be going now.” Levi returned the book he had been perusing to the shelf and beckoned Nico out of the door.

“Wow, we spent an hour in there? That’s insane!” Nico exclaimed. “But some of those books were fascinating! I’ll have to save some money and get a few next time.”

Levi just smiled and made his way towards The Three Broomsticks, looking back to make sure Nico was following. They entered the bustling pub and Levi told Nico to find a table while he went to get the drinks.

When they had settled into a small table in a corner, each with a Butterbeer, they began to discuss their current lessons. Nico admitted that he was actually struggling, not so much with the material, but more with the cultural barrier. “I didn’t want you to think I’m stupid, but our study sessions are actually really helpful. I pushed back because I wanted to seem more capable, but… I need those sessions.”

Levi smiled and sipped his drink. “You know, you could have just admitted that outright. I would have respected you way more for being honest.”

“Well, I know that now!” Nico laughed and then softened. “I thought that would work. I thought you’d be impressed and think I was some smoking hot bad boy or something. I don’t know. You’re hard to read.”

“I’m really not. I just like when someone is nice and sincere. I’m such an awkward nerd, why would you think bad boy would be my type?” Levi joked.

Laughing, Nico replied, “I don’t know! It’s worked before! But you’re different. And honestly, I’m really glad to be able to drop that persona.”

Levi smiled and drained his drink. Nico took that as his cue to finish his drink as well. Once they were outside, Nico turned to Levi with a guilty look, causing Levi to jump to conclusions. “Have you realized you don’t actually like me? Has this hangout ruined all your feelings for me?” He felt oddly hurt and hollow at the prospect.

Nico looked taken aback. “What?! No! I just like you more! No, I was going to say that even though I wanted today to be all the things you liked, I just remembered that my Keeper gloves are wearing thin so I am going to drag you to Spintwitches.”

Levi perked up. “Oh! That’s fine. No problem.”

They made their way to the sporting needs store and Levi stood back while Nico tried on a wide variety of gloves, before settling on a handsome pair of brown leather gloves. He went to pay while Levi inspected the various broomsticks, mesmerized by the craftsmanship.

“You want a broom?” Nico appeared behind him and said with a laugh.

Levi was startled and quickly turned around, almost knocking over a display of flying goggles. “What, no! They’re just very nicely made and I was appreciating them.”

Nico glanced at the brooms. “Yeah, they are really nice.” He raised a small parcel, presumably containing his gloves. “I got ‘em! Let’s go.” 

They exited the shop and decided to make their way back to the school, especially since they had a study session planned for a few hours later. On the walk back, Levi asked about Quidditch and Nico went into a story about truly feeling like a wizard for the first time when he rode a broom at age nine. He had played soccer - football - as a child and proved to be a good goalie so Keeper was the natural position for him. He’d made the Thunderbird Quidditch team at age twelve - the youngest Quidditch player in the school - and had really come into his own because of the team.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to babble on about Quidditch.” Nico trailed off his speech with a blush.

“No, no! I didn’t realize it meant so much to you. That’s really nice. I can barely get two feet off the ground on a broom, but I know Casey had a similar experience as you with flying when he was younger.” Levi sincerely responded.

“I’ll have to take you flying sometime. I think you’d like it if someone actually took the time to help you.”

“Hm, sounds like a date.” Levi smirked.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that! I mean, I’d be so down, but I’m also not going to pressure you or anything.” Nico stuttered out.

“Pity, it’s a great date idea. If someone asked me on that date, I’d probably say yes.” Levi decided to be coy, having enjoyed the day and now willing to give Nico a chance.

Nico gaped at Levi, before slowly developing a smile. “Levi, would you like to go on a flying date with me?”

“Hm, I guess so. I have been meaning to get better at flying.” Levi couldn’t help but tease a bit.

Nico threw his arms up in triumph, causing Levi to giggle. “WOO! I’m sorry, I need to be calm. I’m so cool. Yeah, no big deal. Whatever.” Nico tried to school his face into an unaffected expression, but a huge smile broke through and overtook his features. 

“That may have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Levi smiled to match Nico.

“I wish I’d just been myself from the start. Merlin, I’m an idiot.” Nico facepalmed.

“Yup, you are.” Levi laughed. They had made it to back to the school. Nico looked at Levi hopefully. “I told you this wasn’t going to end in a kiss. This was just a hangout.”

Nico gave a short nod. “Yeah, I know. Can’t blame a boy for wishing.” He began to walk away, but Levi called out to him.

“But, you know, our study session in a couple hours is different. There’s never been a ‘no kiss’ rule for those.” Levi gave a sly smile.

Nico’s eyes widened. “Nope, that rule certainly does not exist. So I’ll see you in,” He looked at his watch, “1 hour and 47 minutes!” He turned away and retreated with a spring in his step.

 

An hour and 45 minutes later, Levi made his way into the library, noticing that Nico was already seated and ready, but eagerly watching the door, awaiting his arrival. He waved frantically when he caught sight of Levi, causing the Hufflepuff to huff out a laugh. Levi made his way over to the table, but did not stop in front of his normal seat. Instead, he went around to Nico’s seat and pulled the other boy up. He looked at Levi questioningly, but Levi just held onto his hand and pulled him towards the back corner of the library where all the rarely used books written in Olde English were kept. No one came to this area of the library because no one really even knew it existed. But Levi had been to every inch of the space and knew this was exactly where he needed to be.

Turning to Nico, he dropped his hand and looked him dead in the eye. “I’m going to kiss you, but I need to warn you that I’ve never kissed anyone and I may not be any good at it.”

Nico vigorously nodded his head. “Yes, do that. And you’re going to be great. I know you’ll be great. You’re so great at everything you do.”

Levi brought his arms up to wrap behind Nico’s neck and stood on his tiptoes. He was ridiculously endeared to this sweet and sincere Nico. Never would he have thought he’d be here, about to kiss this boy, but today had changed things for him. Instead of a cocky jerk, he had seen a thoughtful and enthusiastic boy who Levi couldn’t help but like. If this boy was the real Nico - as he seemed to be - then Levi was ready to spend more time with Nico.

He leaned his head up and tilted it slightly before catching Nico’s bottom lip in his mouth. He’d seen couples making out in the common room enough to know the basics and he figured Nico would guide him the rest of the way. The kiss intensified, but not by much. It stayed closed-mouth and fairly short, but Levi could tell how much Nico had been wanting to do this by the eagerness with which he leaned further into the kiss.

Levi pulled back first, feeling Nico try to chase his lips. He opened his eyes to see Nico gazing at Levi so softly that he forgot how to breathe for a moment. “Let’s go, we need to study. Plenty of time for more of that later.”

“Is that a promise?” Nico gave a faux smug grin.

“Not if you keep making that face, it’s not.” Levi shot back, before making his way back to the table.

Two hours later, after reviewing counter-curses, they found themselves back in the corner of the library, studying something else entirely: each other. They spent the rest of the day talking and kissing and laughing. Levi could not believe the cocky guy he had reluctantly agreed to tutor was now the guy he was maybe, possibly dating. 

The two made their way to dinner with fifteen minutes left, drawing lots of looks due to their joined hands. Transfers were rare at Hogwarts, but so was Levi Schmitt holding hands with someone. They settled in next to his friends, eager to hear about their day. As he watched Nico laugh at Dahlia’s description of Casey tripping in his haste to get to Honeydukes, Levi resolved to thank Professor McGonagall for forcing the two together. Nico Kim had become a big part of his life and he decided he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [abraxoschase](http://abraxoschase.tumblr.com/) for being my beta for this fic. Feel free to find me on Tumblr at [theswiftiewholived](https://theswiftiewholived.tumblr.com/)!


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